The self-made princess turned fashion icon
Well-known designer and printmaker, Diane von Furstenberg, reveals that she embraces being vulnerable and facing her imperfections. Most women are hesitant in revealing their age but DVF talks about her age all the time and is proud to be 73, saying she’s lived an extraordinary life and “should be 140.”
DVF found her fame in the fashion community founding her own brand in 1972 and created the infamous wrap dress in 1974 that became a staple style like the little black dress. Her brand’s mission still applies today to advocate and inspire women all around the world, not letting anything like age stop her.
DVF launched the InCharge movement with the main mission of empowering women while encouraging them to be a leader. As a child, DVF looked up to businesswomen and women who are confident.
“To be in charge is to be true to yourself. It’s to accept who you are. Because if you own your imperfections, they become your assets. If you own your vulnerability, it becomes your strength.” – Diane von Furstenberg
One thing you might have not known about DVF is when she was 22, she married a member of the German royal family, Prince Egon von Furstenberg. DVF wanted more than to live the life of a royal, leading to the creation of her fashion brand.
One year after launching her brand in 1972, she divorced her husband and worked on creating a name for herself as a designer rather than royalty. DVF saw a lot of success and by 1976 was selling 25,000 dresses a week with the popularity of the signature wrap dress during the time of the women’s liberation movement celebrating powerful women.
As a child growing up in Belgium, DVF says that she felt like an outcast for her unique brown curly hair among her blonde classmates. Over the years she’s embraced her unique look inspiring artists like Andy Warhol when she made the transition to living in New York.
DVF says that she continued to see her face in a different way as the years go by but embraces every part of herself no matter what society standards. This designer has faced a lot of adversity over the years including when the fashion press donned the end of an era for her signature wrap dress, leading to a drop in wholesale accounts and was left with $4 million in unsold inventory.
DVF also released a Spotify podcast series called InCharge with Diane von Furstenberg interviewing other celebrities on the positive relationship they maintain with themselves including Priyanka Chopra, Karlie Kloss, and more.
